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                    Why NAnt?
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        <h1>Why NAnt?</h1>
        
        <p>NAnt is different.&nbsp; Instead of a model where it is extended with shell-based commands, NAnt is extended using task classes.&nbsp; Instead of writing shell commands, the configuration files are XML-based, calling out a target tree where various tasks get executed.&nbsp; Each task is run by an object that implements a particular Task interface.</p>
        <p>Granted, this removes some of the expressive power that is inherent in being able to construct a shell command such as 'find . -name foo -exec rm {}', but it gives you the ability to be cross-platform - to work anywhere and everywhere. And hey, if you really need to execute a shell command, NAnt has an <code>&lt;exec&gt;</code> task that allows different commands to be executed based on the OS it is executing on.</p>
        <p>For more information on why Ant and NAnt were developed read the <a href="http://jakarta.apache.org/ant/manual/">Ant Introduction</a>.</p>
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